


Checkmate

by sisternyxalia13



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, M/M, Vampire Hunters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-28
Updated: 2018-03-28
Packaged: 2019-04-14 02:08:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14125812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sisternyxalia13/pseuds/sisternyxalia13
Summary: Nohr and Hoshido are at war--with Nohr being a nation ruled by the undead, and Hoshido ruled by those that would slay them. Somewhere in between, two princes have fallen in love (maddeningly, with each other).





	Checkmate

“I know you are our best scout, Takumi. I am glad that you are willing to put your life on the line for our war effort, but you are also my brother. Your safety is more imperative than the mission. Return home if it becomes too dangerous.”  
He could hear Ryoma’s voice in his head, his moccasins soft on the plush carpet—they were his best, most flexible shoes and not given to making any sound. Anything other than his heartbeat might give them away. The darkness around him was harsh, there were no lights in these spaces, not even candles. He supposed that the undead didn’t have to have lights in their homes, they could see just fine in the dark. That was… a disadvantage.  
He heard the slight sound of leather on leather as he tensed in reflex to the absolute darkness, gripping Fujin-Yumi hard in his hands.  
Vampires could walk and make no sound, they had no breath, no heartbeats. They were the literal dead on earth, and he was in their den. Each movement, each breath, each heartbeat was so loud to him, he imagined that it must be loud for his enemy.  
He wished that the candles in the hall were lit, that there were at least some candles, some sort of dim light.  
The silver-haired archer found that his wish was granted, but not in a way he wanted. Around the corner he heard soft footsteps and a voice that was both cheeky in tone and in conversation, “Now Selena, dear, are you absolutely sure you don’t have time for tea? We could have some biscuits, some chatter. Later I could show you my rooms—“  
“Can it, Laslow.”  
The darkness was broken by two of the royals’ retainers moving through it, carrying candles.  
Takumi, still cloaked in most of the darkness, waited to see if they moved on, or if they continued further down the hall. They were, for a moment, a horrifying clarity of grey and red hair in the candlelight, and he felt as though the whole house might come down on him if they saw him.  
He held his breath, and they did not hesitate at the corner, did not slow, but instead moved down the hallway with the candle and talking amongst themselves. He thought he heard the female make a comment about how they really should get the electric fixed in the upper floors.  
“That’s what you get for taking up residence in an old place like this, Selena. At least there is electricity where it is most important.”  
Their voices faded gradually in the darkness, leaving Takumi alone in it.  
He held his breath, listening, straining his ears for any other sound, and moved with a ludicrous amount of caution up the hallway. The retainers had been there only moments ago, and he found that they had already vanished into the darkness. If he recalled the floor-plans that his informant had passed him correctly, he should make a left and head straight to the end of the hall. His target’s chambers would be there.  
He was here to scout their manor and grounds, and here to, if he could, take out one of the princes before he was noticed. He didn’t know if he could—Prince Leo was notoriously difficult for any one of them—himself and his siblings—to hit. An elusive target, though Takumi had tried and failed on several occasions to nail him properly with one of Fujin-Yumi’s laser-like arrows.  
Sucking in a deep breath, he paused. Some of the doors were ajar, casting the lamplight inside into the hallway. He froze just outside the line of light, peeking into the doorway. Takumi prayed to whatever gods there were that this was just one of the other retainers.  
Turning his head in, he instead, caught sight of a large, imposing blond man seated at a desk, bedecked in black and white. Even from behind, the firm silhouette was unmistakable. Prince Xander.   
Takumi had never come face to face with him before—that was better left to the crown prince and Takumi’s own elder sibling, Ryoma. Xander and Ryoma, he found, could go match for match, blow for blow with their blades… Even if Ryoma was disadvantaged by fighting on the ground rather than on horseback. He swallowed and drew back from the door.  
He felt his heartbeat pounding in his ears, hard and fast, and the sound was enough to attract the prince’s attention. Xander sat up from where he was working, his imposing form shifting. Takumi would have to keep moving if he didn’t want to be caught, and move quickly. Already having crossed the light from the ajar door, Takumi pressed his back to the wall beside it, stood carefully, and his footsteps moved down the hallway quickly and quietly.  
He heard the crown prince’s voice from the room as he approached the door, “Laslow?”  
He felt a crackle of power from Fujin Yumi, as though the unstrung bow were responding to his stress, and he worked to push his heartbeat down. But Xander had already heard the spike in it, and knew that it was something else.  
Takumi would not be able to see him in the now half-darkness if he decided to exit, but he wouldn’t hear him coming. He had to keep moving. His thudding heartbeat quickened as he approached his destination. If he could get inside before Prince Xander saw him—But the prince did not follow. He had to be listening, to be confused and startled.  
The archer rationalized what Prince Xander must be thinking.  
If it were a retainer, they would not have hesitated to speak to him—they were allies, close attendants. If he addressed one, they should not be afraid. This had to be an intruder…But why wasn’t he pursuing?  
Takumi did not want to think about why, Prince Xander was not a brainless idiot, he was not so quick to pass up something suspicious. He took the potential lapse in judgement for his own opportunity, and was quick to push open the door and, as quietly as possible, close it. He heard the soft click of the door as it closed entirely.  
He felt his heartbeat reduce significantly, the pounding in his chest cooling as he took in the room around him. Dark paneling, lined with bookshelves and filled with books that were all neatly in place. He almost thought it might be abandoned, but there was some sign of use. The bookshelves themselves were a touch dusty, and there were clear-cut lines and smudges where they had been moved…Though it was obvious by the thin film of dust on the deep-violet and bizarrely plush chaise that the room was not much used for sitting.  
Odd, he’d always taken Prince Leo for someone who’s rooms, especially the sitting-room for his chambers, would be impeccably neat. This implied that he may not have many visitors. Good. There would be no one to interrupt.  
Gripping Fujin-Yumi with both hands, he studied the room itself, and then glanced to the next door. Behind it, he assumed, would be Prince Leo in all his infuriating glory. The prince who had sent him mocking sonnets and had challenged him on no end, wielder of the divine tome Brynhildr. He’d finally get to see him face to face again, outside of battle. Just the two of them.  
His next movements were a little less careful, though he still felt fear that Prince Xander was right behind the door… Prince Xander, waiting for him to move so that he could open it and cleave his head off of his shoulders with that giant blade of his. Prince Xander, imposing and dangerous, a hard, cold visage on the battlefield.  
Takumi felt his moccasins sink with each step into the carpet as he drew closer. He couldn’t draw Fujin-Yumi and open the door at the same time. Reluctantly, he took one hand off of the bow, pushed the door open, and tried to make the transition from one room into the other as smooth and natural as possible.  
The magical bow-string flared to life, glowing bright in the dimness of the room, coming together in a helix of the archer’s own will. The arrow placed itself in the archer’s hand as he drew back the string.  
“It ends here, Nohrian scum.”  
Though Fujin-Yumi blocked most of the view, he could still see Prince Leo. The blond man was dressed down in simple black pants and a loose-fitted tunic, his hair combed as neatly as ever. He watched as the vampire tucked his hairband in, as though he was in no danger, and then he turned.  
Takumi was always struck by how obnoxiously pretty he was. Delicate features, his cool expression and thick lashes. His mouth moved from a line to an amused smirk, both eyebrows raising up sharply.  
“Relax, Takumi, you made it in one piece. We’re alone.”  
The archer slowly lowered Fujin-Yumi, and let out a sigh, “Sorry. I wanted it to be convincing in case your brother caught us. He heard me on the way down the hall.” The bow’s string disintegrated into nothingness, the arrow falling away in shards of blue light. Takumi’s shoulders relaxed significantly.  
“He probably thought you were Odin, sneaking around like a ninja. That’s a thing he’s been doing, by the way. He wants to, how did he put it… Master the art of stealth so that we might know our enemies better?”  
“From what you’ve told me about him, he’s not very good at it. You can’t be a ninja and shout ‘Eldritch Smackdown’!”  
“You can, but it makes you ineffective. Now… Let’s do what you really came here for.”  
Leo moved out of the way, exposing his bed, stripped to just its violet sheets, with a chessboard level on top of it. Both of Takumi’s eyebrows found their way up under his bangs at the sight. So this was his idea of romance, huh?  
“You don’t have anywhere better to put it?”  
“I don’t typically have guests. And you get the privilege of the bed.”  
“Sure.”  
Takumi probably wouldn’t have it any other way.  
His eyes followed Leo as he moved to the door, closing it behind them, and shutting them together in the room. Alone. Each trip was getting more and more complicated, and any hope of peace between their families was dwindling.  
“Well?”  
Leo had sat himself at the foot of the bed, almost like he was sitting side-saddle on his damned horse. The other prince made a gesture for Takumi to take his place across from him, “Are you coming?”  
“...Yeah, yeah,” called Takumi, laying his bow against the wall and crossing the floor-space with ease.  
It was hard for Takumi to describe the sort of feelings that Leo had awakened in him. A fierce passion and competition. It had begun as trading blows and narrowly avoiding one another was what had started it. Chance meetings, quick flashes of battle that melted into almost biting conversation. There were the sonnets too, delivered weekly, each one of them scathing and reeking of frustration—and now, here he was, sneaking into Leo’s bedchambers in a den of vampires to play chess.  
Well, maybe a little more than chess.  
Crawling up onto the bed, he settled himself on both knees in front of the board. Chess was a game he was still learning, and learning it mostly so that he could beat Leo at it. That was the goal. A question, however, burned at the back of his mind.  
“Does anyone know, Leo? About…?”  
“Us?”  
Leo allowed silence to fill the air between them for just a moment, and then said, “White goes first. It’s your move.”  
Takumi rolled his eyes, choosing a pawn and placing it two spaces forward, waiting for Leo’s answer.  
“Well?”  
Leo was forced to respond, and said with a sigh, “Yes.”  
Takumi felt his heart lurch for nerves, and Leo made another move, looking down at the board contemplatively. Chess was a lot like their lives, moving around one another, fighting, trading blows, trying to capture kings and destroying pawns. Takumi did not enjoy real-life chess. It meant that he and Leo could not be together freely, that they were restricted. He waited for Leo to elaborate.  
“Well...there’s my sister…”  
“Which one?”  
“Yes.”  
Takumi felt a lump in his throat before he managed to swallow it and adjusted himself on the bed. It was plush, very different from the bed he was used to sleeping on. Material comforts weren’t exactly his style but he supposed if you lived a long time…   
But knowing that the Nohrian Princesses knew about them made his placement here more uncomfortable than it should have been.  
He chided himself. Them knowing was not the worst thing in the world. Elise was notoriously good at discovering and keeping secrets (so he’d learned, just now, in fact); and from what Takumi understood about Camilla, she was not a gossip, nor was she particularly fond of most company. They would not tell. Leo trusted them, so reluctantly, Takumi did as well. (And really, Takumi was finding, he was learning more about the Nohrian siblings than he had ever cared to learn.)  
“Well, at least it’s just them.”  
Leo shot Takumi a look, both eyebrows raised, “I hope you aren’t insinuating I told them. I told them nothing, they found out on their own. I would be surprised if your own sisters didn’t know.”  
While trading moves with the other prince, Takumi gradually realized that Leo was closing in on him. He was going to lose.  
Takumi felt his face sting red.  
“I didn’t say you told. Besides, it’s possible one of my sisters know… if it’s Sakura, then she’s not said anything… She’s too shy. Hinoka would cause some problems. I know for a fact that she’d tell Ryoma in a heartbeat. If our brothers find out, we have a lot to lose.”  
For a moment the archer felt that truth in whole. He could lose the trust of his siblings, of his whole family. If they knew that he was close to… no...that he loved Prince Leo as much as he did, would they abandon him? Ryoma was, like Xander, notoriously hard-headed and also notoriously over-protective of his siblings. He was more likely to believe that Leo had simply cornered and brainwashed Takumi than believe his little brother had turned traitor. He was even willing to give Corrin the benefit of the doubt when she started turning.  
Thinking about his missing older sister made Takumi’s heart sting a little, but in a different way. Instead he turned his thoughts back to how he felt, how sometimes he wondered…  
It would be a lie to say that Takumi himself hadn’t considered that Leo had somehow glamoured him... Takumi had worried that his feelings could have been artificial, planted by someone who wanted a spy, to eradicate the Hoshidan hunters. It had taken more soul-searching than he wanted to admit before he conceded to his feelings--and perhaps all the mocking sonnets Leo had sent him that were full of the same pent-up frustration. Still, he had consulted with ancestors, prayed at shrines. Anything to rid himself of the poison of the madness that is love. None of them had worked, and every manner of holy instrument had failed to purge him of it.  
The feeling was real.  
There were still risks--Prince Leo could pretend to reciprocate. He could use Takumi to destroy his family. There could be any number of things. There was no way for Takumi to put Leo’s affections to the test. All he had was the prince’s word, and nothing else.  
But what is a relationship without trust?  
Ryoma had asked him that once after their mother had died. At the time, Takumi had been cold and unforgiving. Betrayal now felt like too harsh of a word to apply to his missing baby sister.  
So….despite everything, Takumi trusted Leo.  
“You’re thinking very intently. Something tells me it’s not the game, or our sisters.”  
Takumi did not move his expression or his eyes from the board, moving his bishop up to block Leo’s knight.  
“I’m just thinking, that’s all. This is a lot to think about. You, me, our families.”  
A silence fell across them as Leo moved his next piece to mirror his opponent’s. It caused a flicker of annoyance to cross the young man’s face before he made his next move.  
“What about them?”  
“What will they do when they find out?”  
“About?”  
“Us,” Takumi said, and then moved his bishop to the furthest line. His movements were not calculated or thought out. They were an impulse. Leo understood what he meant.  
“I don’t know. If it happens, then… We do what we can. Burn that bridge when we get there… I’ve just taken your bishop, by the by.”  
“Thanks,” Takumi grumbled, eyes on the board, and then steadily straying over to Leo’s lap, and then up his form. He pushed forward another pawn to block off the King and make Leo’s ascent into his ranks more difficult.  
“But Leo what if…”  
Takumi was the king of what-ifs. There were a hundred-thousand what-ifs in his thoughts at this moment. They lived there, bred there, buzzed around until he found something new to obsess over. For a long time it was Corrin and Azura, and after they’d gone missing it was finding them and bringing them home. Now...now it was his future with this vampire. This so called ‘prince of darkness’, as it were.  
“What ifs get you nowhere, Takumi.”  
Leo’s words came out stern, and he too was looking at the chessboard, calculating his next movement.  
“Then what will?”  
Here, the blond looked up, and their eyes met. Carefully, Leo’s cold hand left the chessboard, and cupped the other male’s face, his thumb tracing his cheek, “We’ll be okay. I can’t guarantee that, but we are smart and capable. Both of us. And really, honestly, Camilla would never let Xander lay a hand on me…or you.”  
Leo knew just how to soothe him, cool hands, cool words, soft movements. He made a move while looking Takumi in the face, surpassing his defenses, “Your move, Hoshidan.”  
The word came out with a tease and the younger man felt his face grow red.  
Takumi narrowed his eyes, examining the board, and then made a lunge across the bed, wrapping both arms around Leo’s shoulders and pressing him into a hard kiss. The resulting momentum threw them both back a little, upsetting the board and the pieces.  
The archer drew back, eyes on Leo with a bright sort of amusement, “Checkmate.”


End file.
